Netacea

Manchester, UK
2018
  |  By Threat Research Team
In our last blog post, we unpacked what SEO poisoning is and how it diverts organic search traffic. We examined some prevalent rank theft techniques used in SEO poisoning attacks. In this follow-up, we will dive into how automation can be used to further SEO poisoning and ranking theft attacks. With bots, adversaries can execute coordinated ranking theft at a speed and scale not possible manually.
  |  By Alex McConnell
Bots cost the average business 4.3% of online revenues every year – or $85 million for the typical enterprise – so it’s critical that businesses invest in finding the right bot protection solution. If you’re coming up against resistance within your business when seeking to procure or upgrade your bot protection capabilities, this post will give you plenty of ideas for proving why better bot management is essential – in ways that matter to everyone in your organization.
  |  By Threat Research Team
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is crucial marketing tool for driving organic traffic to websites. It works on a simple premise that users trust top search results are the most relevant to their needs. In general, we will feel much more confident digesting content or buying products or services from top search engine results.
  |  By Alex McConnell
For years Netacea has been reporting on the evolving scalper bot landscape. From the early days of sneaker bots, through to hobbyists snatching PlayStation 5 consoles and even vaccine appointments throughout the pandemic, we’ve closely monitored what items scalpers target. Now, a whole new breed of scalper bot has emerged – one that exploits discounts and pricing errors instead of exclusive hype drops, costing retailers hundreds of thousands in lost inventory.
  |  By Alex McConnell
Netacea is a noted vendor in a new Forrester report, The Bot Management Software Landscape, Q1 2024. The report provides important independent research into the evolution of automated attacks threatening businesses in the coming year, and how bot management solutions are positioned to defend against them. The main trend cited in the report is that now, anyone can launch a sophisticated bot attack.
  |  By Alex McConnell
Are you an eCommerce Manager who keeps being asked about bot visitors by security and fraud teams? You’re not alone, as the issue of bot attacks such as scalping, scraping and account takeover cross multiple business functions – everyone has their role in stopping bad bots. It’s time to up your bot knowledge and do your part in mitigating these attacks. Here’s what you need to know.
  |  By Alex McConnell
It's 8.58am, the tickets to your favorite band's latest tour are about to go on sale and you're poised, credit card in hand, ready to secure the hottest tickets in town. Only, once you make it to the front of the virtual queue, the tickets have all been snapped up by scalpers. Or you're faced with the dreaded message, "server busy, try again later". If you think this is unfair, you’re not alone.
  |  By Netacea
New research from Netacea reveals that while bot use is driving prices far above the rate of inflation, 26% of under-35s are using the same tactics to buy in-demand goods and tickets.
  |  By Alex McConnell
Scalpers aren’t just interested in snagging the final Yeezy drops, the newest Air Jordans or tickets to see Taylor Swift on tour. They’ve also been saying “Hey, Barbie” to the latest Mattel collaboration with rock icon and Barbie enthusiast Stevie Nicks. Evidence gathered by Netacea suggests that scalper bots were involved when pre-orders for the limited-edition Stevie Nicks Barbie, unveiled by the Fleetwood Mac legend during a recent concert, sold out almost immediately.
  |  By Alex McConnell
A panel of cybersecurity experts from BT, Cranfield University and Netacea recently came together to discuss the accumulating cost businesses face due to malicious automation. The webinar is now available to watch on demand (scroll to the bottom of this page or click here to watch it in full). You’ll hear our specialist panel analyze results from this year’s extensive survey into what bot attacks cost enterprise businesses.
  |  By Netacea
Netacea CISO Andrew Ash welcomes two special guests to the podcast this month to talk about AI adoption and managing third party risk: Thomas Ballin (CTO, Cytix) and Haydn Brooks (CEO, Risk Ledger).
  |  By Netacea
To start this month’s episode, we once again weigh in on AI – this time considering the privacy implications when feeding prompts into generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard. We’ll discuss whether it’s safe to share company IP or your own personal information into such tools, before hearing how we approach this at Netacea from Principal Software Engineer John Beech.
  |  By Netacea
This month’s episode takes off with a journey into the controversial world of skiplagging, also known as hidden city flying. Airlines and holiday businesses are taking legal action against passengers and websites like Skiplagged that exploit pricing loopholes, leaving empty seats on the second leg of multi-stop itineraries. But with scraper bots at the root of the issue, is there a technical solution to limit the practice?
  |  By Netacea
This month we begin by examining the 2023 National Risk Register, a public version of the National Security Risk Assessment, which assesses the most serious risks to lives, health, society, critical infrastructure, economy and sovereignty. Cyber-attacks on infrastructure are listed as moderate impact – Our panel discusses how businesses can use the information within the report to prepare for attacks and keep our critical infrastructure as secure as possible.
  |  By Netacea
In this month’s episode, we start by focusing on the real-world impact of bots (scripts used to automate tasks and exploit business logic). In the UK, bots are being used to book up every available driving test before reselling them for profit; meanwhile in the US, gig workers delivering groceries are losing out to bots that hoard the most profitable delivery jobs. Our panel explains how this happens and discusses what can be done to stop it.
  |  By Netacea
A fresh Netacea panel of cyber experts are on hand once again to discuss the latest developments in security and bot-related news! This month, in light of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman standing before US senators and requesting regulation of AI businesses, we give our views on whether one body – or even one nation – can or should regulate this rapidly developing industry.
  |  By Netacea
In part two of our RSA Conference 2023 series, Netacea CPO Andy Still and CISO Andy Ash return from San Francisco to share their insights from the biggest cybersecurity event of the year.
  |  By Netacea
Welcome to a new format for the Cybersecurity Sessions! We’ve refocused our podcasts to provide insights into the latest news and trends in cybersecurity, calling on the expertise of Netacea’s threat researchers, bot specialists and business leaders. This month, new host Dani Middleton-Wren is joined by Matthew Gracey-McMinn, Chris Pace and Tom Platt. First they discuss the ever-intriguing topic of ethics in AI, with facial recognition tech from Clearview AI and PimEyes coming under legal and moral scrutiny, followed by the practicalities of fighting back against automated ticket scalping.
  |  By Netacea
Our reliance on personal mobile devices leaves us vulnerable to attack; not just from anonymous criminal groups, but in some cases, from those closest to us. Stalkerware, a category of apps designed to secretly monitor the unsuspecting victim whose device they’re installed on, are a growing concern for security and privacy advocates, as well as law enforcement agencies.
  |  By Netacea
Not a week goes by without a massive data leak being reported in the news – both in tech publications and across mainstream media. According to Atlas VPN, 5.9 billion credentials were leaked in 2021 alone. But it’s not just credentials under attack; personal data, payment information, sensitive corporate data, and even source code are all at risk of being leaked. But how is so much data leaked so often? What do criminals do with this data once they have it? How much risk does this pose to the public, and what can be done about it?
  |  By Netacea
In 2019 we saw more credential stuffing, sniper and scraper bot attacks targeting websites, mobile apps and APIs alike. The shift in attack vectors and scale of attacks highlights an urgent need for a sophisticated solution that protects businesses and customers from the growing malicious bot threat. Understanding the intent of bad bots vs. humans or good bots is vital as all industries face new challenges in acquiring the necessary visibility of their traffic, and subsequent analysis required for rapid and effective attack response that doesn't sacrifice the user experience.
  |  By Netacea
Are you seeing the full picture when it comes to web and application security? Without fast and accurate data at your fingertips from the best bot management, it's increasingly difficult to differentiate human from automated bot traffic on your web-facing applications. Credential stuffing, account fraud and scraping attacks are a multi-billion-dollar business¹, with the scope for earning made increasingly simple by the vast number of internet users, availability of login credentials and the sheer volume of connected devices.
  |  By Netacea
The second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is a data-driven legislation introduced by the European Union (EU) in 2015, with which all payment service providers (PSPs) throughout the EU and beyond must comply. PSD2 expands the scope of 2007's PSD, a directive implemented to make payments across borders as easy, secure and inexpensive as domestic payments. However, a short eight years later, innovations in technology and the prevalence of fintech have created new challenges for the payments industry to address.
  |  By Netacea
Web traffic is made up of human and non-human visitors, but not all these sources are safe. Sophisticated bot traffic is on the rise and it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the criminal from real customers. Download your free copy of 'The Managing and Mitigating Bots' Guide and learn about.
  |  By Netacea
In 2017 Black Friday was the single largest cause of web traffic peaks and website outages in the retail industry. Even a 1-second delay in load time can result in a 7% loss in conversions.

Netacea provides a revolutionary bot management solution that protects websites, mobile apps and APIs from malicious attacks such as scraping, credential stuffing and account takeover.

Our Intent Analytics™ engine, powered by machine learning, quickly and accurately distinguishes bots from humans to protect websites, mobile apps and APIs from automated threats while prioritising genuine users. Actionable intelligence with data-rich visualisations empowers you to make informed decisions about your traffic.

We Prevent Sophisticated Automated Threats:

  • Account Takeover: Stop account takeover by identifying account-based attacks.
  • Credential Stuffing: Prevent data breaches and protect your website from credential stuffing attacks.
  • Fake Account Creation: Prevent fake account fraud by identifying bot accounts, fake account creation and mass account registration.
  • Web Scraping: Identify and block web scrapers and scraping attacks made to compromise your website.
  • Ad/Click Fraud: Identify ad fraud to reduce wasted spend and prevent ad bots from illegitimately displaying or accessing ads.
  • Skewed Marketing Analytics: Prevent bots from stealing your marketing budget and skewing your analytics.

A Smarter Approach to Bot Management.